The Conjouring

So I finally got to see, The Conjouring.  I was not able to see it when it was in the theaters, so as soon as it was out on dvd I bought it knowing that I was going to really like it and want it as part of my permanent horror collection.  I was not wrong!   I think part of my affection for it was that it was based on a story from the New England area.
For those of you who don't know the story it is about a family in Rhode Island who in the 1970's, purchase a house dating from the 1800's.  Strange occurrences begin to happen, some violent which are toward the mother. Things progress to a point where the family needs outside help.  They contact Ed & Lorraine Warren, who are well-known demonologists.  The Warrens come to the house and immediately sense an evil presence. They quickly do research on the house and discover a disturbing history.   It was originally the home of a woman named Bathsheba.  She was a descendant of a woman who had been hanged as a witch in Salem. Bathsheba gives birth and is caught by her husband sacrificing the child.  She then commits suicide, but not before she curses (naturally) the house and the surrounding land.  She proclaims that anyone who tries to steal her land will die.  The Warrens then discover that over the decades various home owners have died mysteriously.   By this point, the family is so tormented by the spirit of Bathsheba that the mother has been possessed and has tried to harm the children.  The Warrens decide to exorcise  the spirit and are successful. All is well after that.
The movie was pretty true to the story with just a few minor changes.  I found one of the most disturbing scenes in the movie to be one where one of the children describing to the parents what she had seen in her bedroom.  The young actress played the part so well, she was able to imbue the audience with the utter terror that she felt. I can't say the movie was one the best I'd ever seen, but do really like it and am glad that I own it since I'll probably watch it again and again.  I hope you do, too!

Secrets & Hauntings

I watched a really good movie a few weeks ago on Netflix called Crooked House.  I loved it. It is the story of a man who finds an old door knocker in the backyard of his recently purchased townhouse.  He takes it to the local historical society to find out its history.  The curator tells him several tales, each one creepier than the one before. This movie had everything I look for in a ghost story; the skeptical protagonist, an old house, a stranger and a mysterious and/or tragic back-story. Also, what it DIDN'T have is just as important: not a lot of blood and not a lot of sex...nothing gratuitous.  And to me, the mark of a truly well-developed horror story does not have to rely on blood, gore and sex to make it interesting. After watching Crooked House, I wanted more like it so I took to the internet in search of similar titles.  What came up was James Herbert's book, Secret of Crickley Hall

. This story centers around a family touched by tragedy who move to an old manor and discover that the ghostly events plaguing  them are connected to the time when the manor was used as an orphanage during World War 2.   I read it, loved it and discovered that it, too was a movie that will be released in the U.S. on dvd in October.  I cannot wait!  I guess you can say that I re-discovered the author, James Herbert.  Many years ago I watched a movie called Haunted starring Aidan Quinn, a very young and often topless Kate Beckinsale and Anthony Andrews.  At the time I thought it was an OK movie.  It had a decent story line; which includes a pretty creepy plot. Fast forward a few years and I came across a book called Haunted

by James Herbert.  I discovered that the movie was based on the book and because I liked the movie well enough, I decided to read the book.  The book was better.  Of course.  This story is about a paranormal researcher summoned to the home of three adult siblings who are concerned for the well-being of their former nanny who insists that she is being tormented by ghosts. SPOILER-ALERT...she is!!   So there you have it, my recommendations for good, old fashioned ghost stories...part 1.   What are yours?

Evil Dead

     So, I went to see Evil Dead this weekend fully expecting to have to cover my eyes at the "scary" parts (yes, I do that), but I didn't.  Don't get me wrong, I found the movie to be every bit as frightening as it was predicted to be, I just think that I have finally become so desensitized to the blood and gore that I can watch a movie where a girl slices her tongue right down the center without batting an eye.  I blame The Walking Dead. 

     I thoroughly enjoyed Evil Dead and will probably see it again.  The story line stayed true enough to the original, but must be judged on its own for its noticeable differences.  For example, no Ash. However there was a female version that I thought was pretty comparable.  Now now, I'm not saying I prefer this to the original...COME ON, you think I'd prefer anything WITHOUT Bruce Campbell???  I just think that the two versions stand on their own without having to be compared to one another.  This new version was pure horror, no slapstick, no camp.  The original was campy.  It had it's moments and did come off as "scary" with the humor.  Personally, I think that's what made it genius. As I said before, the new Evil Dead stayed close enough to the original story about five friends on a weekend getaway in a creepy, old cabin in the woods.  In this updated version though, one of the friends has asked the others to come to the cabin to help her get off drugs, "cold turkey".  While at the cabin, the friends find the book, read from it, awaken Evil, get possessed and mostly die. The gore was there in buckets, yes I made that joke.  The Deadite/demon was just as creepy as in the original.  In fact, the woman who voiced it in the original did it in the version, too,  (Ellen Sandweiss, who played Cheryl).  Bottom line, make all the comparisons that you want to the original Evil Dead, but enjoy the new version for what it is, a horror movie made for the sake of horror.

Horror Takes a Holiday

 Vacations are supposed to be a time in one's life when they can relax, put their feet up, maybe sit by a pool sipping margaritas.  That's certainly not the case for the people in the following movies:

     The Reeds is a British import about a group of friends whose weekend holiday on a boat veers dangerously off-course (sorry for the terrible pun).  The friends find themselves lost in the marshy reeds, trying to navigate their way out while at the same time fend off a (seemingly) supernatural predator.

     I watched this movie a couple of times before I decided whether or not to like it.  I did like it very much.  I found the story compelling and eerie.  As you know by now, I don't like to give away the ending, so what I'll say about the movie is this: it has a twist-ending!!

     The Barrens is an Canadian/American horror movie that stars British actor, Steven Moyer of True Blood fame.  In it, Moyer stars as a man who takes his family on a camping trip in the New Jersey barrens.  As the movie progresses, the man's sanity (seemingly) fades away.  Several campers have disappeared and the man is convinced that the legendary Jersey Devil is behind the disappearances and is also hunting him down. 

     While I found the movie a little predictable, the idea of the Jersey Devil interested me because even though it's a fairly well-known urban legend, there aren't any movies or books (for that matter) that really explore the legend.  And, like The Reeds, The Barrens also has a twist ending.  ENJOY!

BONUS MOVIE:

Tucker & Dale VS. Evil is an absolute must!  Alan Tudyk plays a redneck on vacation who, through a comedy of errors, is mistaken by a group of college students as a blood-thirsty killer seeking revenge on those who "done him wrong".  It also stars Tyler Labine as his friend who falls in love with one of the college students. If the premise alone doesn't grab you, then watch it for Alan Tudyk.  He is AWESOME!!